Gov. Youngkin appears to prepare for a 2024 presidential bid

Youngkin raised an impressive $2.64 million into his political action committee, Spirit of Virginia, since he took office in January, according to the Washington Examiner. He also has more recently formed a federal political nonprofit group, America’s Spirit. Two weeks ago, the Washington Post reported on an unannounced trip Youngkin made to Manhattan, NY to meet with some large donors. While on the trip, he also did interviews on CBS and Bloomberg, appealing to a national audience on issues such as rising inflation and gas prices.

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The governor is making trips that aren’t on his public schedule, and has raised more than double what his three most recent predecessors raised during their first six months in office. This sparks the question; what is he getting ready for?

In Virginia, governors are barred from running for consecutive gubernatorial terms, meaning that all this money and effort would most likely be directed to a national race if he does choose to run another campaign.

The Post noted that Youngkin has begun speaking about the needs of "Americans" and not just "Virginians," and he has subtly changed the way he replies to questions about whether he'll run for president in 2024.

"I am always humbled by this request, but we have a lot of work to do today in Virginia," Youngkin told Brian Kilmeade in June, when the "Fox & Friends" co-host questioned him about a presidential run during an interview. But, he added, "I have not made a decision yet."

A June poll conducted by Roanoke College found that Youngkin’s statewide popularity has been improving over the course of his time in office, with his approval rating up to 53 percent from 50 percent in February, while disapproval has fallen to 35 percent, down from 41 percent. More Democrats (41 percent) approve of Youngkin’s performance now than they did four months ago (30 percent), however Youngkin’s approval among Republicans dipped significantly to 75 percent, down from 84 percent in February.

Some right-wing critics of the governor have pointed out that while he has latched onto issues such as promoting school choice and being anti-critical race theory, Youngkin still reeks of the milquetoast Republicans that Trump conservatives tend to reject. Before he entered the governor’s race — his first attempt at elected office — Youngkin donated to GOP candidates who were more aligned with the party’s establishment wing: former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio; and former Representative Paul Ryan, according to federal campaign finance records. He gave Mitt Romney’s campaign and its allied political groups $75,000 during the 2012 presidential campaign, records show. Axios even calls Youngkin "Romney 2.0."

Other Republicans seem to be critical of a potential presidential run because they think he'd be better off focusing on being the Governor of Virginia. Christina Pushaw, press secretary of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, is among those calling for Youngkin to fix the education system in his state before he looks at higher office.

July 3, 2022